Top 10 No.10s

No.10s are the players who play behind the striker and have been talked a lot over the last decade and a half because of a lot of teams moving away from playing 4-4-2 in favour of a 4-2-3-1.

The role of a no.10 has been around for a long time going back to the early years of the game but I think they're more popular now than they were back then because a lot of teams now play with one.

The modern era has been many great no.10s over the years and especially during the time period I mentioned earlier as that was when the number of them was rising in the game.

The role of a no.10 is to create chances for the forwards as well as offer a goal threat and the majority of them a judged on the amount of goals they score as well as the assists they provide.

Not all the players in the list played as a no.10 throughout their careers, but they have all played in that position at some point in their careers and even worn the shirt.

Now here is the list:

Luka Modric

Lionel Messi

Dennis Bergkamp

Thomas Muller

James Rodriguez

Paul Scholes

Jude Bellingham

Mesut Ozil

Wesley Sneijder

David Silva

10. Wesley Sneijder

Sneijder was very much a no.10 as he created chances for the strikers and was at the heart of every attack his team were involved in.

He would always play passes into the forwards at the right time due to his brilliant vision, can keep hold on the ball in tight areas and could also score goals.

He was at one point one of the best attacking midfielders in Europe with 2010 being the year where he was right up there as he played a starring role for Inter Milan as they won the treble under Jose Mourinho and was Holland's best player as they reached the World Cup final scoring 5 goals over the course of the tournament.

I had to have him in tenth because he didn't have the career the other players in the list had as his career went downhill after he left Inter.

9. Luka Modric

Modric played as a no.8 for most of his career but he did play as a 10 early on in his career and at times for Real Madrid and Croatia.

He's been the link between the midfield and the forward line throughout his career through his ability to play decisive passes from anywhere on the pitch and ability to control games.

He was a brilliant carrier of the ball when he was in his prime as he could glide past players effortlessly and he still can today at the age of 40.

But I had to have him quite low down because he did spend the majority of his prime years as a no.8.

He was however still brilliant in the no.10 role because of his ability to carry the ball up the pitch and play in passes to the forwards.

8. Jude Bellingham

Bellingham will probably be higher up this list in a few years time as he's already one of the best midfielders in Europe and is only going to get better because of the potential he has.

A lot of people thought he would be a box-to-box midfielder when he started out as he was used in a deeper role during his early days of Borussia Dortmund.

But he has very much established himself as a no.10 since he's been at Real Madrid where he has developed into a world-class midfielder by adding more goals to his game.

He's absolutely exceptional on the ball as he can carry it up the pitch into the final third, beat players with a bit of skill and play the right pass to the forwards.

As well as being one of the best midfielders in the world, I think he could be England's best player since Gazza as he's a similar kind of player to Gazza in that he's a brilliant carrier of the ball and can do almost anything with the ball at his feet.

7. Mesut Ozil

Ozil was a delightful player to watch on his day as was a brilliant carrier of the ball, agile, could pick out any kind of pass from almost anywhere on the pitch and was very skilful.

He was right up there among the best attacking players in Europe when he was at his best and especially when he was at Real Madrid as he would create multiple chances a game and run the show in that no.10 role.

He showed glimpses of his potential at Arsenal but he he didn't show it enough as he would have games where he was brilliant and games where he wouldn't turn up.

He was one of those players who played better with better players around because he thrived at Madrid because he had the likes of Ronaldo, Benzema and Di Maria around him and it was the same when he played for Germany as he had the likes of Kroos, Muller and Schweinsteiger.

The players he had around him at Arsenal were not at the level of the players he had around him at Real Madrid and the German national team.

6. Paul Scholes

Scholes could play anywhere in the midfield including the no.10 role which he played during the 2002/03 season where he had his best goal scoring season, scoring 20 times in all competitions with 14 of them coming in the Premier League.

Playing in the no.10 role gave him the freedom to express himself higher up the pitch and allowed him to contribute more in the attacking third which he did to great effect by scoring the amount of goals he scored.

He had games in that role in the seasons that followed where he continued to flourish by scoring goals and providing assists for his teammates.

5. James Rodriguez

James was one of the best attacking players in the world on his day as he was skilful, technically brilliant, creative, agile and could score a variety of goals.

The 2014 World Cup in Brazil was where he first emerged and announced himself on the world stage as he won the golden boot by scoring six goals as Colombia reached the Quarter Finals.

He got himself a big move to Real Madrid off the back of that tournament and he got off to a promising start start there as he scored 17 goals in his debut season in all competitions.

But his career went downhill after that season as his game time decreased and he wasn't an influential as he was when he first announced himself on the world stage.

But on his day, he was as good as anyone and he still is today at the age of 34 at Mexican club Leon.

4. Thomas Muller

Muller could play anywhere across the front line when he was Bayern Munich including out wide, as a centre forward and of course as a no.10, which was where he played the most and was his best position.

He was a good all-round attacking player on his day as he could both create and score goals which he did plenty of times at Bayern and all the ones he scored or provided were key in every success he achieved at Bayern.

He described his position as the Raumdeuter because of his ability to move into spaces left by the opposition and use it to either create chances of score goals.

He also liked to drop deep to receive the ball and create space for other players to run into which shows that he was an unselfish player.

He won everything on offer multiple times at Bayern including 12 Bundesliga titles and he was also an integral part of the Germany side that won the 2014 World Cup.

3. David Silva

Silva was originally a winger when he started out at Valencia but he was soon moved into a central role at Man City and he was better off in that central role as it enabled him to get on the ball more.

He was an exceptional player on the ball as he could glide past players effortlessly, pick out passes from almost anywhere on the pitch and could do pretty much anything with the ball at his feet.

He was City's chief creator during his early years at the club and especially when he played in the no.10 role as he would link the defence and attack and play those killer passes into the forwards.

HIs creative abilities and overall brilliance took City onto another level when he arrived as he turned them into a top four Premier League team.

2. Dennis Bergkamp

Bergkamp was an out and out no.10 on his day and especially when he was at Arsenal as he would be the player that dropped deep to receive the ball whilst his strike partner who stay higher up the pitch.

He became Arsenal's main creator by dropping deep to receive the ball and acting as a deep-lying playmaker due to the vision he had to pick out any kind of pass.

His ability to create was what made his partnership with Thierry Henry special as he would be the one that dropped deep and created chances whilst Henry would stay high and score the goals.

He could also score goals and some very good ones too but he was known best for the creative side of his game.

1. Lionel Messi

Messi was more of a winger instead of a no.10, but he did play as a no.10 during his early days at Barcelona and he excelled in it through his brilliance with the ball.

He played in that role a lot during Barca's treble winning season in 2008/09 and it enabled him to get on the ball and make things happen which he did many times during that season.

He was at the heart of everything Barca did going forward when he played as a no.10 because of his ability to carry the ball up the pitch and ability to come up with moments of brilliance.

He had to be my no.1 because of the brilliant player he is and the fact that he can do things that very few players can do.

MY TOP 10:

1. Lionel Messi

2. Dennis Bergkamp

3. David Silva

4. Thomas Muller

5. James Rodriguez

6. Paul Scholes

7. Mesut Ozil

8. Jude Bellingham

9. Luka Modric

10. Wesley Sneijder